Guard for garment hanger



1960 J. G. CAVENDER 2,960,262

GUARD FOR GARMENT HANGER Filed June 10, 1959 ATTORNEK United StatesPatent '0 GUARD FOR GARMENT HANGER John G. Cavender, Kansas City, Mo.,assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Hubert J. Tillery, KansasCity, Mo.

Filed June 10, 1959, Ser. No. 819,260

4 Claims. (Cl. 223-98) other garments which are hung by simply drapingthem across the crossbar. Usually such guards are constructed of paperor paperboard. While in some cases hanger manufacturers have attemptedto supply the demand for guards by incorporating them with the hanger atthe timed manufacture (e.g., a-tube of paperboard around the crossbar)by far the greater amount of hangers sold are not so constructed, thusleaving it up to the dry cleaning establishments themselves to procureand install suitable guards when needed.

The dry cleaning establishments have through the years arrived atempirical standards for the ideal guard. From their standpoint the moreimportant requirements are that it must be low in cost, occupy littlestorage space and yet be capable of connection with the hanger in suchfashion that it will not be accidentally pulled from the hanger orbroken when draping the garment thereover. Furthermore, not only mustthe guard be so constructed as to be readily attached to the hanger, itmust, to be satisfactory to the customers of the dry cleaner, have theproperty of remaining firmly attached during subsequent use. To complywith all of these conditions presents a difiicult problem for the guardmanufacturer since ordinarily the more effective the guard for itsintended purpose the more bulky and expensive it becomes.

One of the principal aims of the present invention .is to provide ahanger guard which for reasons to be more fully 'dealt with hereinaftersatisfactorily answers practically allof the requirements which must bemet in order to provide a guard with the ultimate in strength,durability and permanent connection with the hanger while stilldemanding little time and efforton the part of the dry cleaner injoining the guard with the hanger.

An object of the invention is to provide a guard which is capable ofbeing firmly attached to the hanger but which, when supplied to the drycleaner, is in substantially fiat form and can be installed on thehanger in its fiat form. It is a feature of the invention in thisrespect that the guard according to the invention is self-guiding intothe proper position on the crossbar of the hanger and is so constructedthat it resists accidental removal prior to the time that it has beenlocked into position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a guard of the characterdescribed which, as the garment is' draped thereon, is so affected bythe weight of the garment as to cause the guard to firmly connect itselfwith the hanger. In my invention the guard is permanently deformed bythe weight of the garment into a configura- "ice tion which renders itsubstantially permanently attached to the hanger. A feature of theinvention in this respect resides in the fact that the heavier thegarment, the more substantial the connection between the guard and thehanger.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a guard of thecharacter described which has excellent resistance to torsional ortwisting deformation about its longitudinal axis and which, in addition,has considerable beam strength. There is little or no danger of theaccidental production of lateral breaks or knees .in the guard either inhandling prior to installation on the hanger or in removal of hunggarments therefrom.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a guard of thecharacter described in which the garment supporting surface thereof ispermanently braced in the desired smoothly curved configuration. Thesupport for the curved surface in my :invention is tobe distinguishedfrom simple reliance on the resistance to bending afforded by ordinarysheets of strips of paperboard. I provide a positive underlyingstructural support which also serves the purpose of assisting inmaintaining the locked connection between the guard and the hanger.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a guard of thecharacter described which can be constructed entirely of relativelylight grades of paper and yet which meets all of the precedingobjectives of strength, durability and long life.

Other and further objects of the invention together with the features ofnovelty appurtenant thereto will appear in'the course of the followingdescription.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the specification andis to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like referencenumerals indicate like parts inthe various views;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a typical wire hanger to which a guardaccording to the invention has been attached, the guard being shown inits initial configuration, that is, prior to the draping of a garmentthereover;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the hanger andguard, parts of the guard being broken away forpurposes of illustration;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. lin the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the configuration of theguard following the application of a garment thereto.

Referring to the drawing there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 .a conventionalwire garment hanger having the cross bar 10 and upwardly and inwardlyturned bails 11. The bails 11 are twisted together to form a neck 12 andone bail has an extension which forms hook 13.

The guard for the hanger is represented generally by reference numeral14. The guard is designed to be supported on and by the crossbar 10 ofthe hanger. In its preferred form it is slightly longer than thecrossbar .and of substantially greater width than the .diameter .of thecrossbar. While the width may be varied, I prefer .auniform width ofapproximately one inch between the longitudinal edges 15. The endsshould be slightly rounded as at "16a to eliminate any sharp cornerswhich might otherwise catch on garments being handled or passed .in thevicinity. The ends of the guard also are provided as at 15a with notchesor recesses adapted to receive and engage the .bails l1 and prevent theguard from rotating about the crossbar.

In its preferred form the guard may be considered as being composed of agarment supporting strip 16, which is essentially that part of the guardseen in Fig. 1, .and a locking and forming structure on the underside ofthe support strip, the details of which appear .more clearly in Figs.'2,3, and .4. t

; tral members.

The garment support strip 16 is preferably constructed from a good gradeof relatively heavy paper of from approximately .006 to .018 inch inthickness. In its inital configuration it is substantially fiat althoughit may have the slight curvature illustrated in Fig. 3.

The locking and forming structure on the underside of the support stripcomprises as its main elements a first pair of spaced locking members 17and 18 and a second more widely disposed pair of similarly shapedmembers 19 and 20. These members are preferably all in the form ofcontinuous ridges or ribs running lengthwise and parallel with thelongitudinal axis of the support strip 16. A practical and effectivemanner of providing the ridges or ribs is by utilizing a paper similarto that employed for the support strip 16, the paper sheet being pleatedin order to provide connecting portions 21 which adjoin and are securedto the underside of the strip 16 by any suitable adhesive.

As will be evident from Fig. 3, the central two locking members 17 and18 have inner confronting faces 17a and 18a and are adapted to straddlethe crossbar 10. The

18a are slightly closer together than the diameter of the crossbar inorder to bring about a slight wedge fit when the guard is placed on thecrossbar.

It will be observed that the outer locking members 19 and 20 compriseribs or ridges of slightly lesser depth than the central members 17 and18 and that normally the apices or lower ends 19a and 20a thereof arespaced well away from the outside faces 17b and 18b of the cen- Thedepth of the outer members 19 and 20 and their spacing respectively fromthe adjacent central members 17 and 18 is such that when the edges ofthe support strip 16 are depressed from their normal position of Fig. 3to the position of Fig. 4 under the weight of a garment G, the tips 19aand 20a will be brought into engagement with the outside faces 17b and18b of the central locking members.

It is important in producing a satisfactory embodiment of the inventionto make sure that the paper grades and weights selected for formation ofthe support strip 16 and the locking structure thereunder is such thatthe guard as a whole will respond to the weight of the garment to bedraped thereover to the extent of curving more closely about thecrossbar as illustrated in Pig. 4. As this occurs the lower ends or tipsof the central locking members are brought together beneath thecrossbar, thus forming a closed pocket within which the crossbar isretained. The tips of the outside looking members 19 and 20 areinstrumental in forcing the central locking members together and at thesame time the outside locking members provide foundation support for theouter margins of the support strip, thus to cause it to conform to asmooth are absent any sharp break or fold lines.

In manufacture and supply of the guards to the dry cleaningestablishment or other user, the guard is given the initialsubstantially flat configuration illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive.In other words, as received by the dry cleaner, and prior to threadingof the guard on the hanger, the guard will have a configuration in whichthe ridges of the central locking members are spaced so as to freelystraddle the crossbar 10 without interference. To thread the guard onthe hanger, the operator aligns it generally with the crossbar with oneend adjacent a bail. By longitudinally slipping the guard toward thebail thus to engage a recess a at one end with the bail to the fulldepth thereof, the other end can be swung into a position which willpermit the guard to be placed on the hanger with the locking members 18and 19 on opposite sides of and parallel with the crossbar. A slightdownward pressure on the guard establishes a preliminary wedging fitwhich serves to hold the guard on the crossbar during subsequenthandling of the hanger as earlier mentioned.

As the garment G is placed on a guard the weight of the garment bearingon the unsupported area of the guard to either side of the crossbarcauses the guard to reform to the more curved configuration illustratedin Fig. 4 and brings into operation the locking structure as describedabove. The lack of resilience in the material of which the guard ismade, assisted in many cases by the presence of residual moisture andheat in the garment, causes the guard to become permanently set in alocked condition and it cannot be removed from the hanger withoutexerting far more force than usually occurs in the hanging and removalof garments under normal conditions.

The ribs or ridges provided by the locking structure provide the guardwith considerable beam strength thus negativing likelihood of breakageon a transverse axis.

They also assist materially in providing the guard with high torsionalresistance.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and sub combinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A weight lockable guard for garment hangers of the type having acrossbar, said guard comprising, in combination, a garment supportingstrip constructed of deformable material, said strip having considerablygreater length than width and adapted to be centered above and on saidcrossbar with the long axis of the strip aligned with the crossbar andthe longitudinal edges spaced beyond the opposite sides of the crossbar,said strip having an initial unstressed configuration and a second morecurved configuration induced by downward displacement of thelongitudinal edges as the weight of a garment is placed thereon, a firstpair of spaced looking members depending from the underside of saidstrip and adapted to extend downwardly on opposite sides of the crossbarwith the lower ends of said members below the lowermost point on saidbar, and a second pair of locking members also depending from theunderside of said strip, said second locking members each between one ofsaid first locking members and an edge of said strip, said secondlocking members constructed and arranged to engage and press said firstlocking members toward one another as said strip is deformed into saidsecond configuration whereby to cause said first locking members totightly grip and surround the crossbar.

2. A weight lockable guard as in claim 1 wherein said first lockingmembers have side surfaces adjacent the crossbar converging toward oneanother from their lowermost ends toward the garment support stripwhereby to provide an initial wedge fit with the crossbar.

3. A weight lockable guard for garment hangers of the type having acrossbar, said guard comprising, a combination, a normally substantiallyflat garment supporting strip constructed of deformable material andhaving a garment supporting surface and an underside, said garmentsupporting strip of considerably greater length than width and adaptedto be centered above and on said crossbar with the long axis of thestrip aligned with the crossbar and the longitudinal edges of the stripspaced beyond the opposite sides-of the bar, at least four laterallyspaced ridges running lengthwise of and projecting from the underside ofsaid strip, the center two ridges normally spaced from one another attheir apices a distance greater than the diameter of the crossbarwhereby to lie on opposite sides of the crossbar with the insidesurfaces of the center ridges adjacent the bar, the depth of said centern'dges greater than the diameter of the crossbar whereby the apices ofsaid center ridges extend below the bottom of the crossbar, the garmentsupporting strip being deformable from its flat position by the weightof a garment on the respective longitudinal edges thereof thus to curvethe garment supporting strip in an arc about the bar, the outside ridgeshaving surfaces which engage respectively the outside surfaces of thecentral two ridges as the garment supporting strip is deformed wherebyto press the apices of said central ridges toward one another and reducethe distance between them to less than the diameter of the crossbar thusto lock the guard to the crossbar when a garment is placed thereon.

4. A weight lockable guard for garment hangers of the type having acrossbar, said guard comprising, in combination, a garment supportingstrip constructed of deformable material and having considerably greaterlength than width and adapted to be centered above and on said crossbarwith the long axis of the strip aligned with the crossbar and thelongitudinal edges spaced beyond the opposite sides of the crossbar, abacking member secured to the underside of said strip and forming atleast four longitudinal corrugations running longitudinally of thestrip, the two center corrugations straddling the crossbar and havingtip portions extending therebelow and normally spaced apart a distancegreater than the diameter of the crossbar, the outside corrugationsbeing of lesser depth than the central corrugations whereby when agarment is placed on the guard the downward deformation of thelongitudinal edges of the strip will cause the outside corrugations tomove inwardly toward and engage the central corrugations thereby topress the central corrugations toward one another thus to cause thecentral corrugations to firmly grip the crossbar between them and lockthe guard to the crossbar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,987,174 Zetlin Jan. 8, 1935 2,091,506 Guttridge Aug. 31, 19372,819,829 Gensmer Jan. 14, 1958 2,884,171 Knuth -a Apr. 28, 1959

